The Rise of the White Lotus

Churu was alive! She was gasping for air as she panicked and look around. For a moment, Aki's mind malfunctioned.

How could she be alive?

Earlier, he confirmed that she was dead. He checked her pulse and even tried to revive her, but to no avail. An hour before Tora arrived, he tried checking her once again and her body had gone cold while her lips were already turned into a purple hue. Hence, with great effort, he took off his piece of clothes to use as her cover.

But now, her colors had returned to normal as if she just woke up from a temporary sleep. Impossible.

Aki was too distraught about the supposed dead child that he couldn't think straight for a moment.

"You!" As Churu looked around, she saw Aki's tall figure staring at her direction with shock engraved on his front. Trying to stand up, Churu wobbled back as her strength hasn't returned. "Where's To — Yamada-san?" Almost slipping out Tora's real name to him, Churu corrected and asked.

"How are you alive…?" Under his breath, Aki whispered in disbelief. Slowly, he strode forward, to Churu's direction. He could not believe his eyes even when she talked to him. Soon, he reached the small figure that was sitting on the tree.

"Impossible…" He added in a murmur as he raised his arm and reached to touch Churu. Just a slight poke on her cheek, Aki immediately retrieved his hand as if he was scalded. Yet, he felt that she wasn't as cold just like earlier. In contrast, she seemed she was running a fever by her body temperature.

"Suzuki-sama, why are you here? Where's Yamada-sama?" Worried, Churu asked. She held on the hem of his kimono tightly as if she was begging him not to say a piece of bad news. After all, her last memory was that she was being taken away before the man knocked her out. 

Hence, she didn't know if Tora found her as she could not see her around. Instead, Aki was there and a few women from a distance. They were gathered around the bonfire to have some heat in the night's coldness.

"She…" Clearing his mind from the sudden mind-blowing scene before him, Aki stuttered as he cleared his throat. However, Churu mistook it that it was some kind of bad news.

"She's dead?" On the verge of tears, Churu gasped as her heart pounded heavily.

"What? No," Shocked at her assumption, Aki shook his head. He would think about this mystery later, before Churu cry for worrying for nothing. "Here," he softly added as he carried Churu in his arms.

He then strode to the spot he was standing earlier where they could clearly see the wildfire. "She's there," he said, pointing his forefinger to the direction of the camp of the underground group earlier.

"Suzuki-sama, what do you mean she's there? Was she caught on fire?" With a trembling lip, Churu's voice cracked before she chewed her lower lip as tears escaped from the eyes.

"No, she set that place on fire. That was the place they held us captive and now, everything is burning." Aki explained as the place was no longer recognizable unlike when he first entered the place. 

Everything was in a blinding color of tangerine. Even from their distance, Aki could vaguely hear the indistinct crisp sound of burning woods and the shrill of the dying people. It was akin to hell — the terrifying sight of hell.

'Tora…' whispered Churu inside her head.

****

At dawn, Aki hasn't slept while the victims and Churu rested. At this time, the fire was still on and it grew wider than last night. By the looks of it, the whole forest was gone for. Yet, Tora hadn't returned.

"My Lord, you shall rest as well." One of his apprentices approached him as he bowed his head. "I will scout the place and see if the young miss was safe." He added. Although he wasn't worried about Tora, he thought that Aki was concerned about her wellbeing.

"Don't." Without taking his eyes away from the blazing wildfire, Aki rejected. "It's not safe." He added emotionlessly.

"I will —" Just as the man would argue with him, Aki interrupted him.

"Not about the fire, but that woman." Aki vaguely added. If his suspicion was correct, if the woman was indeed Tora, it was not safe to go down this hill for now. 

After all, the rumors about the general killing her enemy with a single slash were true. Then, they should be cautious to let herself cool-off. After all, they were hearsays that after the war five years ago; the general was forced to lock herself for a period of time because of the aftereffect.

Hence, after this whole incident, the demise of a whole infamous underground group meant that it might trigger Tora. Whether or not he was right, Aki couldn't let his men die on her hands.

"Just look after the child and her steed," Aki instructed which the man abided before disappearing like he wasn't there in the first place. As his subordinate disappeared, Aki stared at the fire for a while with his hands held behind.

After some time, he turned and strode away from their temporary camp. He could not let her beast consume her as there are women and a child with them. They have no proper clothes and the food supply Chiharu stole from his group wouldn't last.

Therefore, he decided to set off to find Tora and snap her back to reality. The loss of Churu must have had a great impact on her heart. He needed to relay the news that she was alive. 

Aki was confident in his strength and experience. He was only held captive because he allowed them to. He and his subordinates could break the group apart, but since he was stalling time, he entertained them a little. But now, he couldn't let her come back in a month or so as they have other people that needed shelter and proper foods, as soon as possible.

And also, to clear what needed to be clear on her identity.